Railway
The provision limiting the total number of ministers, including the Prime Minister or Chief Minister, to 15 percent of the strength of the Lok Sabha or the State Legislative Assembly was introduced by the:
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Answer: Option B — 91st Amendment Act, 2003
Detailed Solution
The 91st Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003, limited the size of the Council of Ministers and strengthened the anti-defection law.
Limit on the size of the Council of Ministers:
The total number of ministers, including the Prime Minister, in the Central Council of Ministers shall not exceed 15 percent of the total strength of the Lok Sabha (Article 75(1A)).
The total number of ministers, including the Chief Minister, in a state shall not exceed 15 percent of the total strength of the Legislative Assembly of that state; but the number of ministers in a state shall not be less than 12 (Article 164(1A)).
Why the limit was introduced:
- Governments, especially coalition governments, had often appointed very large councils of ministers to reward supporters and keep their coalitions together.
- This increased the cost of government and was seen as a misuse of power.
The National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (headed by Justice M. N. Venkatachaliah, 2002) recommended such a limit.
Changes to the anti-defection law:
- It deleted the provision of the Tenth Schedule that protected a "split" by one-third of the members of a legislature party from disqualification; now only a merger by two-thirds of the members is protected.
- A member disqualified for defection cannot hold any remunerative political post, or be appointed a minister, until he or she is re-elected or until the end of the term of the House.
Example:
With 543 elected members in the Lok Sabha, the Union Council of Ministers can have at most 81 members.
Small states:
States with small assemblies, such as Goa, Sikkim and Mizoram, are allowed to have up to 12 ministers, because 15 percent of their strength would be too small.
Delhi:
In the National Capital Territory of Delhi, the number of ministers is limited to 10 percent of the Assembly by a separate provision.
Why not the other options?
- ✗The 84th, 89th and 97th Amendments dealt with other matters.
Quick tip
Remember: 91st Amendment (2003) = size of the Council of Ministers limited to 15 percent of the Lok Sabha or the Assembly (minimum 12 in states); split provision in anti-defection law deleted.
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Constitutional Amendments — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Constitutional Amendments, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers the procedure for amending the Constitution under Article 368 and the most important amendments, such as the 1st, 7th, 42nd, 44th, 52nd, 61st, 73rd, 74th, 86th, 101st and 103rd Amendments, along with the basic structure doctrine. Exams ask what a particular amendment did: the 61st lowered the voting age from 21 to 18, the 73rd and 74th gave constitutional status to panchayats and municipalities, the 86th made education a Fundamental Right, and the 101st introduced GST. The 42nd Amendment (1976) is often called the 'mini-Constitution' because of how much it changed. Practise the constitutional amendments questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.